Car-coupling.



W. KELSOl OAR COUPLING. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1911.

' 1,021,412. Patented Mar. 26, 912; 1

, nmmll COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0.,wAs lllllll N UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

WILLIAM KELSO, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIG-NOR T MGCONWAY TORLEYCOMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar. 26, 1912,

Application filed September 18, 1911. Serial No. 649,909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Knnso, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Gouplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appert-ains to make and use the same.-

My invention relates to the construction of car couplers of the verticalplane type and more especially to the locking mechanism thereof, theobject of the invention being to provide simple, durable and efficientmeans for preventing the coupler lock from accidentally assuming anunlocked position when the device is in service.

Generally stated, the principal feature of my invention consists informing the coupler lock with a latch receiving recess and with adownwardly extending portion which projects through the lower wall ofthe coupler head, and in combining therewith a lock lifting or lookactuating member which is slidably connected to said look so as to bemovable into engagement with the lower end thereof, the upper end of thelock actuating member being provided with a pivoted dog or latch whichextends into the latch receiving recess of the lock and is movable intoand out of alinement with a portion of the coupler head.

In the drawings illustrating my invention, the scope whereof is pointedout 1n the claims: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a car couplerembodying locking mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention,a form of uncoupling lever and a portion of the end sill of a car beingalso shown; Fig. 2 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly invertical section, of the coupler illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is adetail view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, of theknuckle locking mechanism; Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of the lockingmechanism; Fig. 5 is a detail view, partly in elevation and partly invertical section,

of the knuckle locking mechanism, showing The lock 1 which restrainsthe'outwar'd' rotation of the knuckle 2 is mounted in the coupler headso as to slide vertically with respect thereto, its lower end beingpreferably somewhat reduced in cross section to form a downwardextension P that projects through. the aperture 1 in the lower wall ofthe coupler head. The upper end of the lock is formed with a recess twhich opens through the rear face of the lock 4 and which is provided atits lower'end with parallel, preferably inclined, faces 4: which, byengaging the under faces of the pivot lugs 5 of the lock-lifting member5, serve to limit the downward movement of the latter with respect tothe lock 1.

The member 5 by which the lock 41 is raised to unlocked position extendsalong one side of the lock and projects beneath the lower end of thelatter, it being pref erably provided at its lower end with a socketedportion 55 into which the lower end of the extension 1 of the lockprojects.

Pivotally mounted upon the upper end of the lock-lifting member 5 is alatch or dog 6 that extends into and is movable in the latch-receivingrecess 1 of the lock. As a secure means for pivotally connecting thelatch 6 to the upper end of the lifting member 5, it is preferred toform the latter with a pair of lugs 5 which extend into thelatch-receiving aperture 1 of the lock and which are perforated for thereception of a pivot pin 7 by means of which the latch 6 is securedbetween said lugs, the member 5 being suitably slotted, as at 5, topermit the free end ofthe latch 6 to project outwardly beyond the faceof the lifting member 5 when the parts of the locking mechanism are inlocked position, as more particularly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. Whenin its projected position the latch 6 is designed to extend beneath aportion of the coupler head lrt 1, as, for example, a shoulder l such asshown in Fig. 2. In this position the latch 6 operates to prevent thelock t from accidentally moving upward to an unlocked position.

In unlocking a coupler having locking mechanism constructed inaccordance with my invention the initial upward movement of the liftingmember 5 permits the latch 6 at the upper end thereof to turn upon itspivot 7 and thus gravitate from beneath the locking shoulder l formed onthe interior of the coupler head. After the lifting member 5 has movedupwardly wit-h respect to the lock 4 a sutlicient distance to cause thewithdrawal of the latch 6 from beneath the shoulder 1 of the couplerhead, the lower end 4 of the lock is engaged by the lifting member andboth of these parts move upward simultaneously until the lock has beenelevated to the required height to permit the knuckle 2 to rotateoutwardly to coupling position. When the upward pressure upon thelifting member 5 has been released and the knuckle 2 is in coupledposition, the lock at and lifting member fall together until the lockassumes its locked position when, by the continued downward movement ofthe lock-lifting member 5, the latch 6 is forced outwardly through theslot 5 in the latter so as to extend beneath the locking shoulder 1 onthe coupler head and thus prevent the lock 4 from accidentally moving tounlocked position. By applying the lifting force to the lower end of thelock 4; the tendency of the look when moving to unlocked position tobind on the interior guiding surfaces of the coupler head is prevented.It will also be noted that the sliding socketed engagement of thelifting member 5 with the lower end of the lock t serves to prevent theoscillation of the lifting member when the coupler is in service andoperates to di- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for rect theupward movement of the lifting member.

I claim:

1. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, of a knucklepivotally mounted thereon, a vertically sliding lock for said knuckle,and a lifting member for raising said lock to unlocked position, saidlock projecting through the lower wall of the coupler head and beingformed with a recess which is open through the face of the lock, andsaid lifting member having slidable socketed engagement with the lock,being movable into engagement with the lower end of said lock and beingprovided with a pivoted dog which extends into the recess of said lockand is movable into and out of alinement .with a portion of the couplerhead.

2. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, of a knucklepivotally mounted thereon, a vertically sliding lock for said knuckle,and a vertically sliding lifting member for raising said lock tounlocked position, said lock being formed with a downwardly extendingportion of reduced cross-section which projects through the lower wallof the coupler head and being also formed with a recess which is openthrough the face of said lock, and said lifting member being providedwith a socket which receives the lower end of the downwardly extendingportion of said lock and being provided with a pivoted dog whichextendsvinto the recess in said lock and is adapted to project through aslot formed in the lifting member at the upper end thereof.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

VILLIAM KELSO.

Vitnesses J. W. HARTLEY, F. D. ECKER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

